The Medical Negligence of Vishnu Lalit – by Bireshwar Choudhury

The deep-rooted fear that has spread in Sri Aurobindo Ashram is that the Ashram Nursing Home, headed by Dr. Dilip Datta and Dr Salila Patnaik, provides a one-way ticket to Heaven. But the journey itself is not so enjoyable considering the medical trauma that you have to go through: the lack of basic health care, the rude behaviour of some of the nurses you have to put up with, the frequent references to Divine Providence by the Chief Medical Officer when he does not want to spend money on you for referrals to specialists, and finally his constant exhortation to “Have faith in the Mother” when the patient does not have enough faith in him as a medical practitioner. The recent case of Vishnu Lalit is one such blatant case of medical negligence.  

A month back Vishnu Lalit was rightly detected of T.B.  by the Ashram Nursing Home. The treatment began, but then his condition did not improve. His health began to deteriorate and, when things seem to have gone out of hand, he was dumped in JIPMER. It was at this point that a good Samaritan took him to Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, and had him properly diagnosed by experts. It was found to be a non-infectious form of T.B. and a proper course of medicines was prescribed for the next few months. But Dr Dilip Datta’s reaction was strange and most unethical, to say the least. Instead of being happy about the timely help, he accused Vishnu Lalit’s helpers of having whisked him away to Chennai against his own will. What is the implication of this stupid accusation? Would it have been better for Vishnu Lalit not to have been given proper treatment? Or does not Dr. Dilip Datta have faith in the diagnosis of Apollo Hospitals, which is probably India’s leading hospital in health care? Or is it because Vishnu Lalit’s cure by an outside hospital will blemish the reputation of the Ashram Nursing Home? Whatever be the reason(s), the fact remains that Vishnu Lalit is now on the road to recovery because a third party intervened, and had this intervention not happened, we can only imagine the worst eventuality!